JAMES Jordon is Sydney's fire extinguisher.

Jordon is the tactical tool Dean Cox and his coaching staff reach for the moment a spark threatens to turn into an inferno. Whether it's a rival midfielder heating up or a clearance chain breaking out of control, Jordon is deployed wherever the blaze is hottest.

While others hunt the ball, Jordon hunts the heat and he has evolved into a tactical chameleon capable of navigating a role that is constantly in flux.

"When you're out there in the heat of battle, it's constantly changing," he told AFL.com.au.

"I definitely keep an open mind and keep across all the different roles that I might play. I feel like that's a strength of mine as well - to be able to adapt to something mid-game or come in with the plan. I'm very open-minded to it all."

Once viewed as midfield depth at Melbourne, Jordon has evolved into arguably Sydney's most versatile tactical weapon.

Now regularly tasked with nullifying the opposition's elite, he has mastered the art of shackling stars without completely compromising his own offensive threat; he's averaging 13.6 disposals this season, a perfectly acceptable tally given his defensive focus, and has even punctuated his tagging work with goals against Hawthorn and West Coast.

The 25-year-old has been in elite tagging form, claiming some significant scalps over the past fortnight.

In round four, he dominated against Harley Reid, completely neutralising the young Eagles star by restricting him to seven disposals in their head-to-head match-up.

He carried that momentum into the Gather Round clash against Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, where he shut down Suns skipper Noah Anderson. Jordon held the influential midfielder to just 15 disposals in their head-to-head battle, effectively nullifying his impact at the clearances.

While these are the two main roles the utility has undertaken this season, they follow big jobs on Max Holmes, Hugh McCluggage, Colby McKercher, Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, Caleb Serong, and Connor Rozee over the past 12 months.

"You've got to be switched on for the whole game," Jordon said of the mental shift needed to act as a lockdown specialist.

"One thing I've learned is that if you’re playing on arguably the opposition's best player most weeks, if you give them a couple of seconds where you're not switched on, they can hurt you.

"I've definitely learned a lot playing on these good players, and I feel like I've been able to add some stuff to my game.

"They're the best players in the competition for a reason. So, I'm still learning my craft as well."

When asked how he remains focused for an entire game, Jordon credited his performance to a combination of mental conditioning and team support.

"We do a lot of work with (mindset coach) Emma Murray. She's been awesome in dialling back our process and stripping it right back. So, I've done a lot of stuff with her, working on that mental side of the game," he said.

"I've also got great teammates around me as well, especially on the weekend. They covered me at times, and it's not normally just a one-on-one battle. When we've got the whole team doing something, it goes a long way in helping me as well.

"I try to do a lot of work with the coaches and watch a lot of vision. I sit down with 'Coxy' and Amon Buchanan, my midfield coach, and sort of work out some plans for the types of things that might get thrown at us. So, a lot of preparation does go into it."

Speaking on Wednesday, Cox stopped short of confirming whether Jordon would be sent to stifle speedy Giants midfielder Finn Callaghan in Friday's Sydney Derby.

Callaghan is coming off a dominant 37-disposal performance against Richmond, having previously faced a Jordon lockdown the last time the two clubs met.

Whomever Jordon goes to on Friday, recent history suggests he'll get the job done.